According to Fire Chief John Nohr, the first thing Clark County Fire & Rescue plans to do if their levy lid lift is approved by voters is re-staff Charter Oak, station 22, in north Battle Ground.
Earlier this year, Clark County Fire & Rescue’s Board of Fire Commissioners approved a 9-cent levy lid lift proposal, which will appear on ballots in August. If voters say yes, the levy would go from $1.41 per $1,000 of assessed property value to $1.50 and last for six years. The levy was set at $1.50 until this year.
Calls within Clark County Fire & Rescue’s coverage area have gone up over 10 percent since 2014. The district has reported increased response times and a revenue loss of more than $10 million since 2009, which resulted in the loss of 11 firefighters and seven administrators, pulling staff from two stations and cutting back a variety of community programs.